Toy selection
Toy selection or toy preferences, the choosing of toys to play with reflects childhood play development The relationship with gender with a remote control. Such toys are generally thought of as boys' toys.]] Certain toys, such as Barbie dolls and toy soldiers, are often perceived as being more acceptable for one gender than the other. It has been noted by researchers that, "Children as young as 18 months display sex-stereotyped toy choices". However, when eye movement is tracked in young infants, infant girls even show a visual preference for a doll over a toy truck. Interestingly, the opposite is true for infant boys.Alexander, G. M., Wilcox, T., & Woods, R. (2009). Sex differences in infants' visual interest in toys. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 38, 427-433. doi: 10.1007/s10508-008-9430-1 This shows that even before any self-awareness of gender identity has emerged, children already prefer sex-typical toys. These clear differences in toy choice are well established within the child by the age of three.Alexander, G. M., & Saenz, J. (2012). Early androgens, activity levels and toy choices of children in the second year of life. Hormones and Behavior, 62, 500-504. Parents, siblings, peers, and even teachers have been shown to react more positively to children engaging in sex-typical behavior and playing with sex-typical toys.Servin, A., Bohlin, G., & Berlin, L. (1999). Sex differences in 1-, 3-, and 5-year olds' toy-choice in a structured play-session. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 40, 43-48. Additionally, sons are more likely to be reinforced for sex-typical play and discouraged from atypical play. However, it is generally not as looked down upon for females to play with toys designed "for boys", an activity which has also become more common in recent years.Toys for Girls and Boys - The Canadian Toy Testing Council accessed 27 May 2007 Fathers are also more likely to reinforce typical play and discourage atypical play than mothers are.Berenbaum, S. A., Martin, C. L., Hanish, L. D., Briggs, P. T., & Fabes, R. A. (2008). Sex differences in children’s play. In J. Becker, K. Berkley, N. Geary, E. Hampson , J.Herman, & Young, E.A. (Eds.), Sex Differences in the Brain from Genes to Behavior (1ed., pp. 275-290).New York, NY: Oxford University Press. The relationship with disability The effects of media advertising Influences of androgens Fetuses are exposed to prenatal androgens as early as 8 weeks into development. Male fetuses are exposed to much higher levels of androgens than female fetuses. It’s been found that toy preferences, as well as choice of play-mates, and play-styles vary with the child’s exposure to androgens. Regardless of the biological sex of the child, increased androgen exposure is associated with more masculine-type behaviours, while decreased androgen exposure is associated with more feminine-type behaviours. Toy preference studies Toys for girls tend to be round and pink, while toys for boy tend to be angular and blue. The subtle characteristics of toys may differentially appeal to the developing brains of female and male children. In a study of toy preferences of twelve- to 24-month-old infants, males spent more time looking at cars than females and females spent more time looking at dolls than males. No preference for color was found. Animal studies have lent further support for biologically determined gendered toy preferences. In a study of juvenile rhesus monkeys, when given the option between plush or wheeled toys, female monkeys gravitated toward plush toys, while male monkeys preferred toys with wheels. These findings suggest that gendered preferences for toys can occur without the socialization processes that we find in humans. Female rhesus monkeys also tend to engage in more nurturing play activities, while males tend to engage in more rough-and-tumble play. Girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) have atypically high blood concentrations of testosterone. In studies of toy preference, these girls show increased interest in male-typical toys, like trucks and balls. Overall, their play habits and preferences more closely resembled male-typical play than female-typical play. Even with children exposed a normal range of prenatal androgens, increased testosterone was associated with increased preference for male-typical toys, and decreased prenatal testosterone was associated with greater interest in female-typical toys. Overall, the degree of androgen exposure during prenatal and postnatal development may bias males and females toward specific cognitive processes, which are further reinforced through processes of socialization. The male interest in balls and wheeled toys may relate to the androgenised brains preference for objects that move through space. The higher levels of androgens in the developing male brain could elicit greater attraction to cars and balls, while lower levels of androgens elicit a preference for dolls and nurturing activities in the female brain. Toy selection in animals There is some evidence that animals can display similar sex based toy selection as humans. 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Children's interactions with social and nonsocial behavior objects in a multi-age evening care setting: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Conover, D. K. (1973). Object preference and resulting movement behaviors of three to seven year old custodial and trainable retarded boys: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Doering, R. W. (1982). Parental reinforcement of gender-typed behaviours in boys with atypical gender identity: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Flood, B. (1975). The effects of an infant environment on infant social interrelationships and infant relationships with the physical environment: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Frasher, R. S. (1975). Modification of children's toy preferences: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Fridy, J. L. (1986). Unstructured materials: A contextual approach to the attentional deficits of developmentally delayed preschool children: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Gopaul-McNicol, S.-A. A. (1987). A cross-cultural study of the effects of modeling, reinforcement and color meaning word association on doll color preference of Black preschool children and White preschool children in New York and Trinidad: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Grumet, J. F. (1975). Effects of adult and peer sanctions on children's attributions of preference: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Guinn, M. F. (1985). Gender type toy preferences of native American, non-native American preschool children in day care, non-day care settings: Dissertation Abstracts International *Liss, M. B. (1977). The effects of televised modeling cues on children's sex-typed toy preferences: Dissertation Abstracts International. *May, B. W. (1978). Color preference for Black and White infants and young children: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Merbler, J. B. (1977). The effects of elaborated play, linguistic marking, and object preference on the performance of infants on Piagetian object permanence tasks: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Moller, L. C. (1993). Toddler peer preferences: The role of gender awareness, sex-typed toy preferences and compatible play styles: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Moody, M. E. (1977). Developmental trends in children's imitation of parental sex-appropriate, sex-inappropriate, and non-sex-typed behavior: Dissertation Abstracts International. *O'Brien, M. (1983). Sex-typed toy play in toddlers: Origin and development: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Olson, K. M. (1993). Preference and choice: Effects on play behavior of children with and without disabilities: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Parker, A. M. (1992). Toy preference and play of developmentally delayed boys and girls: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Pennell, G. E. (1999). Doing gender with Santa: Gender-typing in children's toy preferences. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering. *Robinson, C. C. (1983). The effects of sex-typed labeling in conjunction with sex-typed modeling upon preschool children's toy preference behavior: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Roggman, L. A. (1989). Age differences in the goals of play: Toy preferences and organization of visual attention by 10-month-olds, 15-month-olds, and 29-month-olds: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Ross, H. S. (1972). Novelty and complexity as determinants of exploratory behavior in 12-month-old infants: Dissertation Abstracts International Vol. *Schmid, J. L. (1973). The choice and use of toys by Montessori preschoolers: The relation with sex, age, SES and conceptual tempo: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Schneider, J. W. (1993). An investigation of focused attention in opioid-exposed toddlers: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Silverstein, J. M. (1992). The effects of modeling, reinforcement, and word associations on doll preferences of Black and White preschoolers: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Steiner, L. L. (1980). A study of female kindergarten teachers' sex-role attitudes and their effect on kindergarten girls' sex-typed toy preferences: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Winter, S. M. (1983). Toddler play behaviors and equipment choices in an outdoor playground: Dissertation Abstracts International. *Zubritzky, P. C. (1991). Toy preferences of three- and five-year-old children: Dissertation Abstracts International. External links Category:Childhood play behavior Category:Toy selection